The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-01-19
ne sfupY OF INSANITY.
mo aIsl.nIas q Dsl..l.a.. Hallasla.a.

The 1lsanlnE OF Delusionss HallncinA.
tiens and Iilusiuns
Great confusion exists IN the minds Of
n1any people with regard to the proper
meaniu4 of tho words delusion, halln-
cinatiou and illusion. It would perhaps
not be ainiss to give definition Of these
words. By "deIusion is meant a
faulty belief out of which q person cans
not be reasoned by adequate methods for
the time being. Delusions are the prin-
cipal evidences Of insanity. But not all
persons who have delusions are consid-
erred insane.
BY n hallucination, Is meant the
perception of an object without real
presence to justify the impression For
instance. il should see human forms
while IN reality no one Is near or hear
voices when no one has spoken these
would be halfucinations. It IS perfectly
possible for a sane man to have halluci-
nations but the Impressions are always
correc The insane man cannot cor
rect these impression and believes firmly
that he has seen persons when In reality
no one was near, and that he has heard
voices when in reality no ono has spoken.
These, then. become delusions; that is,
faulty beliefs out of which he cannot be
reasoned,
An illusion" is the perception of an
object actually present, but in characters
which that object does not possess. For
instance, if / should see a bright cloud in
the sky and take it for fiery chariot,
or see an old friend in the person of a
stranger, these would be illusions. If I
would correct the impression and be con-
vinced that the fiery chariot was only q
bright cloud, or that the friend was in
reality stranger, then they would be
illusions proper. If could not be con-
yinced of the falsity of my first conclu-
sion they would become insane illusions,
or, more properly, delusions.
In the insane delusions take one or the
other of these forms and hence thcy are
termed insane hallucinations or insane
illusions. These insane hallucinations
and illusions may cs,cur in any one of the
5enses-in the sense of sight, hearing,
smell, taste or feeling-that is, cutaneous
sensibility. Hallucinations and illusions
of sight are very common among the in
sane, and their form depends upon the
disposition of mind and direction of
thoughts of the person. Thus in the
melancholic they are always of de-
pressing character. He sees the flames
Of he'll encompassing him, or secs
his children being tortured, while in the
maniac they are of the opposite kind
cxlilarating, exciting, exalting. He secs
God in all his glory; heaven opens up
before his eyes.
Hallucinations and illusions of hearing
are most common among the insane.
Voices are most commonly heard. In
the melancholic these voices are of re-
proach or menace or voices that COM
mand him to commit some atrocious
act. Tho following is good example
of pure hallucinations of hearing: A
young man has not spoken word for
six months nor performed any voluntary
act. One day he seized bottle and
threw it at the head of an attendant.
After this he remained quiet and inn
fioIable and Eesse- few IuunTns.
When asked why he had thrown the
bottle, he said: Because I hearda voice
saying: Kill somebody and you will be
delivered. did not kill the man,
therefore my lot could not be altered
and remained quiet and immovable.
Moreover, the same voice repeated with
out ceasing: Move and you will be dead
This warning was the cause of my inn
mobility"
Hallucinations and illusions of smell
and taste are not so common, yet they
occur, and may be of pleasant or un-
pleasant nature, depending upon the dis
position of the person. From these often
arise the ideas of insane patients that
they are being compelled to breathe
noxious gases, as chloroform or ether,
or ideas that they are being poisoned by
articles introduced into their food.
Again, to certain of them plain hospital
fare may seem as the ambrosia of the
gods, and plain. weak water as sweet
nectar.
With regard to feeling cutaneous SEN
sibility, hallucinations and illusions cam
not be distinguished from each other, as
it is impossible often to tell whether
there is really any abnormal sensation or
not. The various sensations that some
experience are very disagreeable and
somewhat hightful, as when person
thinks that serpents are crawling over
him or that frogs have taken lodging in
his stomach, or that birds are in his chest
or a dog ia his head. A case which illus
trates hallucination of several senses is
the foltd wing: A man was returning
home one moonlight night and was
somwhat fatiG,led by his long walk. ALI
at once it seemed to him as If he saw
great animal like dragon roll itself out
of a ditch l,y the roadside. He became
excessively afraid and at the same time
felt himself painfully grasped by the
right shoulder by the animal; neverthe<
less he could, as he said, free himself by
running. Immediately afterward he fell
into diseaseof the lungs which affected
his entire right lung, and he died in q
short time.
It is well known fact that starvation
will induce ballucinations' and sight is
the sense that is usually affected, as is
shown by the following example: A few
years ago several lumbermen lost their
way onthe ice of Lake Ontario, and were
found on little island from which
it was difficult to remove them owing to
the attractive vision of splendid feast
and a warm fire which occupied the
minds of these persons. They had al
most reached the point of death from
cold and starvation.
Two teamsters were lost in the woods
in Montana. Both were saved by the
pluck of one of them, but he experienced
great difficulty in preventing his conn
rade from darting away into the
woods, where he claimed stood man
with basket of provisions and {. house
with lights from which proceeded the
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